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M.C.
Gang is an American 4-D computer animated coming of age dark fantasy serialized television series created by Steve Marmel for Kart Tunes. It was produced by Diamond Champion in association with Rising Stars and distributed by Warner Bros. Set at New York City in the early-mid 2010s era, the series follows the adventures of McCrillis Nsiah, an adolescent boxer and mixed martial artist fighter who works for a secret youth exploration program as an undercover agent to fight against law enforcement and gang tyrannies. Production began in 2066 and finished in 2074. Originally planned as a 98 minute-long theatrical film, it was instead expanded into a serialized full-length television series, as the staff wanted the story to be longer and character-driven. Marmel cited several teenage-heroine action-orientated television series in the 2000s and 2010s era, including a 1973 television film, as his sources of inspiration for Gang; in addition, the series also made numerous references to various 1990s-2000s Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon programming. The series premiered on November 27, 2070 and finished on January 4, 2075, lasting 52 half-hour episodes across four seasons. It won six Annie Awards, six Primetime Awards, four Teen Choice Awards, three Golden Reel Awards, and one Kids' Choice Awards. It is Kart Tunes' highest rated series in the network's history to date, with almost 50 million viewers a month in 2073 and 2074. Gang has spawned various merchandise which includes collectible action figures, dolls, clothing, soundtrack and home video releases. Premise See also: List of Gang characters Gang follows McCrillis Nsiah, a black teenage boy in high school who is a skilled boxer and mixed martial artist fighter, having been so since he was six years old. He is also an undercover agent, working for a secret youth exploration program supervised and under his coach, District Attorney investigator Brain Alleyne, to combat law enforcement and gang tyrannies; McCrillis first joined the program while he was in middle school. This results in McCrillis skipping school on an almost regular basis, leading him to make up all of his absences in detention or summer school to further catch up and graduate on time. McCrillis lives with his parents Mike and Evelyn, and brothers Michael, Royce, and Jemorie. During his early childhood, prior to the series' start, he had several run-ins with police; his sister Joyce left home and got married; his oldest brother Evans left home for unknown reasons and never made any contacts since; Jemorie was shot dead by cops when they unlawfully broke into their apartment without a warrant issued. - - Production Gang was created and executive produced by Steve Marmel, who also acted as showrunner and head writer, at Diamond Champion in association with Rising Stars; its 4-D animation art style and design is well known for being virtually identical to that of real life. The series was conceived in early 2065, entered full production the following year and finished in 2074. It was originally planned to be a 98 minute-long theatrical film; however, as process went on, it was expanded into a full-length serialized television series; the staff wanted the story to be longer rather than shorter and empathize more on the characters, their daily lives, and their motives. Approximately up to 100 people worked together producing and animating each episode of Gang. The crew at Rising Stars did the written scripts, graphic design and movement, and dialogue; the episodes were then finalized by the crew at Diamond Champion, who reviewed them, did the editing, and added music, before being sent to Kart Tunes for approval or scrapped after disapproval from the network. While the series was expensive and time-consuming to produce and animate, the staff planned on finishing it up to "as long as they can", but they had overspent the budget on the series, and had to cancel their intention and shorten it down to 52 episodes. Conception and themes Gang was heavily inspired by several teenage heroine action-orientated series back in the 2000s and 2010s decade, more specifically Kim Possible and Danny Phantom, the latter of which Marmel used to work on. Both series each feature a high school student heroine protagonist fighting crime while coping with everyday issues commonly associated with adolescence. Gang was also heavily inspired by a 1973 television movie titled The Marcus-Nelson Murders, and it was the pilot episode for the television series Kojak. It was set in New York City and that episode depicted a young, intellectually underdeveloped black male being abused and framed for crimes by members of the New York City Police Department. During mid-stage development, after the story was decided to be a serialized television series instead of a theatrical film, Marmel originally wanted the story to be about a young black teenage girl named MaKayla and her older brother McCrillis whose car accident resulted in the loss of his entire body and his soul surgically merged with MaKayla's; both brother and sister are forced to share one body for the rest of their lives. However, the siblings soon become interested in boxing and mixed martial arts, as well as photography, which they eventually use to fight against law enforcement and gang tryannies. The series explored topics rarely touched in many television shows that feature teenagers in middle school and high school, dealing with youth, peer pressure, abuse, sin, repentance, corruption, war, loss, racism, discrimination, stereotyping, homelessness, and LGBT. Gang also explored the philosophical questions surrounding the law and policy; this results in its characters and plot structure being written with many layers of depth and complexity, and thus, their motives frequently being strayed into grey territory; this narrative writing gives the series a wide variety in its atmosphere, a consistent theme, and a relatable connection to the audience. In short, the series touches upon the human nature. Casting Soundtrack Broadcast Episodes International Reception Ratings Critical reception Awards and accolades See also